Reducing diffraction effects on an ablated surface

ABSTRACT

A method is provided for laser ablation that reduces or eliminates a diffraction effect produced by damage to a surface from which an ablated material is removed. The method includes at least one of reducing the amount of surface damage produced and altering the damage structure produced such that it is irregular.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/068,140, filed on Oct. 24, 2014, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for any and allpurposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to laser ablation processes andproducts produced thereby.

BACKGROUND

A laser ablation process generally includes selective removal ofmaterial at a surface of a workpiece by directing a laser beam at theworkpiece. The laser beam is configured to deliver a controlled amountof energy at a laser spot defined where the beam impinges the desiredsurface. This controlled amount of energy is selected to liquefy,vaporize, or otherwise rapidly expand the surface material at the laserspot to cause it to separate from the workpiece for removal. Laserablation can be used to remove at least a portion of one or morecoatings from a coated substrate.

A conventional laser ablation process is typically performed at thefocal height or distance of the objective (focusing) optics—i.e., withthe focal plane of the laser beam at or near the surface from whichmaterial is to be removed. This gives the highest energy density and thesmallest change in spot size with changes in the height of the surface.It has been found that with some conventional focused laser ablationprocesses, such as removing chromium (Cr) from glass with a picosecondgreen (532 nm) pulsed laser, the glass sustains surface damage to suchan extent and with a regular periodicity that a diffraction grating isformed. Diffraction patterns that are produced by the diffractiongrating can be an unwanted or unintended artifact of the ablationprocess.

The regular periodicity of the surface damage thought to be responsiblefor the diffraction grating is related to the laser pulse frequency andthe scan speed. For example, at a 400 kHz pulse frequency and a 20 m/sscan speed, the spacing from pulse to pulse on the surface is 50 μm. Aregular pattern of structures on a surface can generate diffractionaccording to the formula:d(sin θ_(m)+sin θ_(i))−mλ,where d is the spacing of the pattern, θ_(m) and θ_(i) are therespective angles of the reflected and incident beams, m is the order ofdiffraction, and λ is the wavelength of light diffracted under thoseconditions. The diffraction observed for the laser ablated surface mayrequire point light source illumination to be visible. The effect ispictographically shown in Figure A.

As depicted in Figure A, Ray A (center of grating surface) is reflectedat an angle equal to its incident angle (specular reflection). Anobserver sees this as the reflection of the light source. Rays B and Care diffracted from the grating surface, and their incident andresultant angles are not equal. These rays may represent the first orderdiffraction for a particular wavelength. Because the observer isgenerally focusing on the image plane of the light source, thediffracted beams appear as spots or bars of color on both sides of thelight source as depicted by D and E. For clarity, the example shown inFigure A demonstrates diffraction in one dimension, but actualdiffraction artifacts may be multidimensional.

A microscope image of a laser ablated surface produced in an ablationprocess with a constant laser pulse frequency that may produce adiffraction pattern is shown in FIG. 2. Diffraction patterns produced bylaser ablated surfaces may be objectionable to individuals observing thelaser ablated surfaces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect relates to a method of removing a material from asurface. The method includes passing a laser through a lens, andimpinging the laser on the material. A working distance between the lensand the material is different than a focal length of the lens. Theworking distance may be less than 80% of the focal length. The surfacefrom which the material is removed may not exhibit an objectionablediffraction effect after the material has been removed. The surface fromwhich the material is removed may exhibit a diffraction severity of lessthan 5 after the material has been removed. The surface from which thematerial is removed may exhibit a periodic structure after the materialhas been removed. The laser may pass through the surface before thelaser impinges on the material to be removed.

A second aspect relates to an electrochromic assembly including anelement produced according to the above method.

A third aspect relates to a method of removing a material from asurface. The method includes passing a laser through a lens, andimpinging the laser on the material. The surface from which the materialis removed has an array of artifacts thereon with a spacing betweenartifacts and a pitch between lines of artifacts, and at least one ofthe spacing and pitch is varied. At least one of the spacing and pitchmay be random or pseudo-random. The pitch may be between 60 μm and 200μm. The artifacts may each have a characteristic radii, and at least aportion of the artifacts may have different characteristic radii. Aworking distance between the lens and the material may be different thana focal length of the lens. The method may further include varying apulse frequency of the laser, such that a variation in the spacing ofpulses incident on the material is produced. The method may furtherinclude varying a scan speed of the laser over the material, such that avariation in the spacing of laser pulses incident on the material isproduced. The lens may be a variable lens, and the method may furtherinclude modulating the focal length of the lens. The method may furtherinclude driving an actuated mirror located along a beam path of thelaser, such that a variation in a spacing of laser pulses incident onthe material is produced. The surface from which the material is removedmay not exhibit an objectionable diffraction effect after the materialhas been removed. The surface from which the material is removed mayexhibit a diffraction severity of less than 5 after the material hasbeen removed. The laser may pass through the surface before the laserimpinges on the material to be removed.

A fourth aspect relates to an electrochromic assembly comprising anelement produced according to the above process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunctionwith the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote likeelements.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of diffraction produced by a pointlight source.

FIG. 2 is a microscope image of a laser ablated surface.

FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of an out of focus laser ablationsystem.

FIG. 4 depicts the energy of a laser spot as a function of spot widthfor an in focus, out of focus and shaped beam system.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of surface artifact structureproduced by a laser ablation process.

FIG. 6 is a diffraction pattern produced by an asymmetric surfacestructure.

FIG. 7 is a diffraction pattern produced by a symmetric surfacestructure.

FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) are surface profiles produced by an in focus laserablation process and an out of focus laser ablation process,respectively.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a surface damage structureproduced by a laser ablation process with a constant speed of 30 m/s, apitch of 130 μm, and no output synchronization.

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of a surface damage structureproduced by a laser ablation process with a constant speed of 30 m/s, apitch of 130 μm, and output synchronization to produce a square packingalignment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of a surface damage structureproduced by a laser ablation process with a constant speed of 40 m/s, apitch of 100 μm, and output synchronization to produce a square packingalignment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic representation of a surface damage structureproduced by a laser ablation process with a constant speed of 40 m/s anda random pitch in the range of 80-120 μm.

FIG. 13 is a schematic representation of a surface damage structureproduced by a laser ablation process with a random speed in the range of30-50 m/s and a constant pitch of 100 μm.

FIG. 14 is a schematic representation of a surface damage structureproduced by a laser ablation process with a random speed in the range of30-50 m/s and a random pitch in the range of 80-120 μm.

FIG. 15 is a schematic representation of a laboratory apparatus forquantifying a diffraction effect.

FIG. 16 is a schematic depicting a diffraction pattern that includes anappropriate exclusion zone and analysis area for determining adiffraction severity.

FIG. 17 is a camera image of a diffraction pattern that includes anappropriate exclusion zone and analysis area for determining adiffraction severity.

FIG. 18 shows the results of a study of the objectionability ofdiffraction effects based on the measurement of diffraction severity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are described hereinafter. It should be noted thatthe specific embodiments are not intended as an exhaustive descriptionor as a limitation to the broader aspects discussed herein. One aspectdescribed in conjunction with a particular embodiment is not necessarilylimited to that embodiment and can be practiced with any otherembodiment(s).

As used herein, “about” will be understood by persons of ordinary skillin the art and will vary to some extent depending upon the context inwhich it is used. If there are uses of the term which are not clear topersons of ordinary skill in the art, given the context in which it isused, “about” will mean up to plus or minus 10% of the particular term.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the elements (especially in the context of thefollowing claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and theplural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted bycontext. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended toserve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separatevalue falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, andeach separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it wereindividually recited herein. All methods described herein can beperformed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein orotherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and allexamples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, isintended merely to better illuminate the embodiments and does not pose alimitation on the scope of the claims unless otherwise stated. Nolanguage in the specification should be construed as indicating anynon-claimed element as essential.

Described herein are methods for reducing the appearance of diffractionpatterns associated with a laser ablation process. The methods aredirected to reducing the amount of damage imparted to the surface andaltering the arrangement of the artifacts produced on the surface as aresult of the ablation process, such that the diffraction produced bythe surface is reduced. The methods directed to reducing the damage tothe surface produce artifacts with a decreased height, such that theamount of diffraction produced is reduced or eliminated. The methodsdirected to producing an irregular artifact arrangement alter thediffraction pattern produced, such that a greater number of diffractionspots are produced, each having a reduced intensity. Stated differently,an irregular arrangement of artifacts on the surface may produce a moredisperse diffraction pattern. Observers may find a surface that producesreduced or more disperse diffraction less objectionable, andconsequently preferable. The methods of reducing the appearance ofdiffraction patterns may be combined, such that a single laser ablationmethod is modified to reduce the damage imparted to the surface andproduce an irregular arrangement of artifacts on the surface.

A method for reducing the damage to the surface of the ablated regionincludes reducing the intensity of the laser spot utilized in theablation process. An exemplary method of reducing the intensity of thelaser spot includes laser ablation performed with the beam out offocus—i.e., with the focal plane of the laser beam spaced apart from thesurface from which the material is to be removed. In other words, theworking distance between a lens focusing the laser beam and the targetsurface is different than the focal length produced by the lens. In oneembodiment, the surface from which material is to be removed is abovefocus, with the focal plane of the laser beam located beyond the removalsurface in the direction of laser propagation as shown in FIG. 3.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 3 has the effect of increasing the spotsize and reducing the magnitude of the peak in the energy profile of thespot, as illustrated in FIG. 4. The reduction of magnitude of the peakin the energy profile of the spot reduces the amount of damage impartedto the surface during the laser ablation process, thereby reducing theheight of the artifacts produced. In this manner, out of focus laserablation can reduce the intensity of an observed diffraction pattern.The focal distance or working distance of the laser ablation system canbe adjusted or optimized to produce artifacts with different heights.According to some embodiments, the height of the diffraction artifactson the surface may be such that the resulting diffraction pattern is notdiscernible to the naked eye.

An out of focus ablation process provides the benefit of reducing theenergy profile of the focused laser spot and expanding the size of thelaser spot on the target surface without modifying the hardware of theablation system. Thus, a laser with the same power may be utilized toproduce laser spots with different sizes and energies by changing theworking distance without changing the optical elements of the ablationsystem. This ability reduces the cost associated with changing the laserspot size and energy profile.

The out of focus ablation process may include any appropriate workingdistance to focal length ratio. According to one embodiment, the out offocus ablation process may employ a working distance that is 99% or lessof the focal length of the system, such as a working distance that is95% or less, 75% or less, or 50% or less of the focal length of thesystem. For example, in a 550 mm focal length system, the target surfacemay be spaced apart from the focal plane of the laser ablation system byat least 5 mm, such as at least 50 mm, at least 100 mm, or more.

The reduced energy profile of the focused laser spot can also beachieved through the use of beam shaping optics. Diffractive orrefractive beam shaping optics can be used to flatten the energy profileof the spot. Flattening the spot substantially removes the hot spot fromthe center of the ablated spot, reducing the surface damage. The overlapof the pulses may also be reduced, such as by changing the spacing orshape of the pulses, thereby reducing the surface damage caused by theoverlapping regions of the pulses.

A computer generated image of the laser footprint produced on thesubstrate, based on the laser and scan head settings used to ablatematerial from the surface in the above microscopic image, is illustratedin FIG. 5. The pattern illustrated in FIG. 5 is based on a 160 μmablated spot, 400 kHz laser pulse frequency, a scan speed of 20 m/s (inthe horizontal direction of the image), and a 100 μm pitch, p, (in thevertical direction of the images) between scan lines. The laserfootprint shown in FIG. 5 is produced by an ablation process that sweepsin a single direction. Other ablation processes may sweep in alternatingscan directions, back and forth scanning, producing a surface structureof the type shown in FIG. 2.

For the process conditions described above it is believed that the 50micron step size in the back-and-forth scanning direction generates themost largely spaced component of the diffraction pattern. The 100 micronline pitch between adjacent scan lines can also generate a diffractionpattern, but its spacing is much smaller than that of the 50 micronpattern. While any regular or periodic pattern is capable of generatinga diffraction grating, the relative intensity of any resultingdiffraction is a function of the size and/or shape of the featuregenerating it. The pulse step and line pitch components can generateobjectionable diffraction artifacts for different scan settings. Theasymmetry of the 50 um step and the 100 um pitch produces diffractionwhich appears as lines, which are tight groupings of diffraction spots.This effect is due to the 100 um pitch spacing generating smaller anglesof diffraction than the 50 μm step spacing, which causes groups ofdiffraction spots to appear like lines. A diffraction pattern includingsuch diffraction lines produced from a surface pattern with anasymmetric step and pitch is shown in FIG. 6. A surface produced by asymmetrical or substantially symmetrical scan pattern, where the stepsize and pitch size are identical or substantially identical, produce agrid-like pattern of diffraction spots. FIG. 7 illustrates a diffractionpattern produced by a scan pattern that is more symmetrical than thescan pattern of FIG. 6.

Decreasing or eliminating observable diffraction may be achieved bydecreasing or substantially eliminating the surface structures thatcreate the diffraction grating. For example, the ablation process may beconfigured such that there is no resulting surface damage or such thatthe surface damage is reduced to a level at which any resultingdiffraction grating—i.e., the periodic pattern of surface structures ordamage—does not cause enough diffraction of point source light to benoticeable. However, completely eliminating such surface features is notalways possible or practical. The method of reducing damage to thesurface described above may be employed to reduce or eliminate thesurface artifacts produced by the ablation process.

The reduction of the damage produced by the ablation process reduces thesize, depth, of the artifacts produced by the ablation process. Thesurface structure size and shape, lateral size, have been successfullyaltered in a way that reduces the intensity of any diffraction caused bythe resulting diffraction grating. In one particular implementation ofthis method, noted above, laser ablation is performed with the beam outof focus—i.e., with the focal plane of the laser beam spaced from thesurface from which the material is to be removed. This unfocused laserablation technique can successfully modify the surface damage and theresulting diffraction grating, compared to that produced by a focusedlaser beam, such that the diffraction caused by the ablated surface isnot objectionable. The repeating periodic surface features produced bythe ablation process are still present, but the observed diffraction canbe greatly reduced and/or virtually eliminated. The reduction in theobserved diffraction may be sufficient to render the diffractionunobjectionable, despite the presence of the periodic surface structure.

The effect of a reduced surface damage ablation process is illustratedin FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), which show the surface profiles of an in focuslaser ablation process and an out of focus laser ablation process,respectively. As demonstrated by FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), the out of focusprocess produces a surface profile with significantly less damage thanthe in focus process. For example, the depth of the damage of thesurface is significantly reduced by employing the out of focus process.The reduction in the surface damage depth produces a less objectionablediffraction effect.

Another method of reducing the diffraction pattern produced by a laserablated surface includes modifying the laser ablation method such thatthe produced artifacts are arranged in an irregular surface structure.In one implementation of this method, the spacing among adjacent laserspots may be random or pseudo-random. Pseudo-random refers to astructure in which on short length scales, the surface feature spacingis not constant, but may have some periodic nature at larger lengthscales.

One way to achieve such irregular feature spacing includes wiggling,vibrating, or otherwise causing the beam to deviate from the periodicspacing associated with the constant pulse frequency and scan speed ofthe ablation system. This deviation may be accomplished without changingthe pulse frequency or the scan speed. In one embodiment, the lasersystem may be equipped with an actuated mirror or other actuated opticalelement, such as a mirror mounted on a voice coil or piezoelectricdriver. A piezoelectric driver has the advantage of being able to drivethe deviation of the feature spacing at a very high frequency. In onenon-limiting example, an actuated mirror is placed in or along the beampath of a laser pulsed at 400 kHz and swept at 20 m/s. As describedabove, this particular combination of pulse frequency and scan speedresults in a pulse-to-pulse spacing of 50 μm in the scan direction whenno deviation is introduced. The mirror, when actuated at some frequencyand associated amplitude, causes deviations in the beam path thatproduce a non-constant pulse spacing. The mirror in the beam path may beactuated at 40 kHz in such a manner that the spot at the work piece isdeviated back and forth within a 20 μm range, with the movement alignedwith the direction of scanning. The resulting spacing of the laser spotsin this example will vary between 62.6 μm and 37.4 μm through each cycleof the actuated mirror. At 40 kHz and 20 m/s the cycle of the actuatedmirror is 25 μs which yields 500 μm of beam travel. Such an actuatedmirror may be physically displaced to offset the beam while keeping itparallel to the ablation path. This makes the distance of the actuatedmirror from the work piece unimportant. Alternatively, the mirror may betilted by the actuator, producing a deflection that scales with thedistance of the actuated mirror from the work piece. For actuators withsmall deflection at high frequency, the tilting approach may bepreferred since the deflection is magnified as the distance to the workpiece is increased.

The pulse spacing, and thereby the distance between the artifactsproduced on the surface by the ablation process, may be varied withinany appropriate range. In one embodiment, the spacing between theproduced artifacts on the surface may vary between 20 μm and 80 μm, suchas between 30 μm and 70 μm, or between 35 μm and 65 μm. The spacingbetween individual artifacts on the surface is non-constant, such thatthe spacing between sequential artifacts is different in the scandirection.

Another method of forming irregular surface structures includes varyingthe extracted pulse frequency of the laser. A given laser may have aninternal pulse frequency, and an internal electro-optic modulator (EOM)or similar device may be employed to extract pulses at a desiredexternal pulse frequency. For example, an internal EOM may be used toextract pulses at an external pulse frequency of 400 kHz from a laserhaving an internal pulse frequency of 50 MHz by extracting every125^(th) pulse with the internal EOM. This extraction frequency may bevaried to produce different output frequencies. One limitation of thisoutput frequency control technique is that the possible extractionfrequencies are quantized into single pulses of the primary laser, suchas increments of 50 MHz (20 ns). For operation of a 50 MHz laser in anoutput range of 400 kHz this may be especially limiting. For example,generating variable pulse spacing in a range from 40 μm to 50 μm at a 20m/s scan speed is achieved by varying the output frequency between 400kHz and 500 kHz, which in turn requires varying the number of internal(50 MHz, 20 ns) pulses between extracted pulses from 100 (500 kHz) to125 (400 kHz). To vary from 400 to 500 kHz in single 20 ns stepsrequires 51 steps to complete the cycle, which requires a total elapsedtime of 115 μs, corresponding to 2.3 mm of travel at a scan speed of 20m/s. Larger steps can be employed to reduce the cycle time and increasethe distance change from pulse to pulse.

The output frequency of the laser may be varied in any appropriaterange. In one embodiment, the output frequency of the laser may bevaried between 300 kHz and 600 kHz, such as between 350 kHz and 550 kHz,400 kHz and 500 kHz, or 425 kHz and 475 kHz. The scan speed andfrequency variation range may be adjusted to select a desired distanceover which the entire range of variation in pulse spacing is achieved.The scan speed may be any appropriate speed. The scan speed may also bevaried during the ablation process, such as from line to line, to varythe distance between the pulses. According to one embodiment the scanspeed may be in the range of, or vary within the range of, 10 m/s to 80m/s, such as 20 m/s to 70 m/s, or 40 m/s to 60 m/s.

Another method of forming irregular surface structures includes varyingthe size of the ablation spot at high frequency. Such variation in thesize of the ablation spot may be achieved by employing a variable lensin the laser ablation system, such as a liquid lens. Such a variablelens may be modulated in any appropriate manner, such as employingpiezoelectric drivers that operate at a selected frequency and/orassociated amplitude. The divergence of the beam is modified by themodulation of the variable lens, which then modulates the focal lengthof the system. In such a system, the working distance from the lens tothe surface to be ablated may be held constant, such that changing thefocal length produces a change in the distance from the focal plane tothe surface to be ablated and thereby changes the laser spot size at thesurface to be ablated. As the ablated spot size changes, the distancebetween adjacent ablation and resulting surface features is changed.Variations in the ablation spot size may be also be achieved by varyingthe pulse energy during the scanning process. Such a variation in thepulse energy may be employed in place of, or together with, a variablelens system.

Another method of producing an irregular surface structure is to varythe scan pitch, such that the line to line spacing of the surfacestructure is varied. The pitch between adjacent lines may be altered tobreak the symmetry of the surface structure in the pitch direction. Thepitch may vary within any appropriate range. According to oneembodiment, the pitch spacing may vary within a range of 60 μm to 200μm, such as within a range of 70 μm to 175 μm, 80 μm to 150 μm, or 90 μmto 125 μm. In a similar manner, the scan speed may be altered line toline to generate different pulse spacing on subsequent lines. The pulsespacing of adjacent lines in the surface structure may have the samepulse spacing pattern, such that the pulses in adjacent lines arealigned but spacing between the pulses within each line is irregular.Altering the surface damage symmetry on these short size scales has theeffect of blurring the diffraction which can make it less objectionableto an observer. The pitch spacing variation range and the pulse spacingvariation range may be limited to preserve a desired overlap betweenpulses, with the overlap between pulses ensuring that the material to beremoved in the ablation process is sufficiently removed.

Another method of controlling repeat patterns in the ablated surface inorder to minimize diffraction artifacts is to utilize pulsesynchronization. Such a process includes controlling the location of thefirst pulse of each sweep by timing the start of the sweep to coincidewith a laser pulse. This approach enables the control of the phaserelationship between subsequent lines of pulses. Pulses may becontrolled to produce a cubic arrangement, where the pulses in adjacentlines are aligned with each other (in phase), or a hexagonal packing,where the pulses in adjacent lines are not aligned (out of phase). Usingthis method the phase relationship of subsequent lines can be altered tominimize any apparent diffraction artifacts. The phase relationship ofthe pulses may be controlled such that every other line of the surfacestructure is aligned, such as in an ABAB pulse spacing arrangement,where A and B refer to pulse spacing alignments. Any other appropriatepulse spacing arrangement alignment from line to line may also beemployed. Changing the relative position and spacing of neighboringpulses changes the relative locations of the resulting diffractionartifacts and also can affect the perceived intensity of the diffractionartifacts.

Another method of reducing the perceived intensity of diffractionartifacts is to modify the pulse to pulse and line pitch spacing so thatthey are similar or essentially identical. Such a process produces asubstantially symmetrical surface structure, as described above. Thismethod, in combination with the phase control described above, produceswell defined grid-like arrays of diffraction artifacts that, dueostensibly to the increased separation of diffraction spots, reduce theoverall intensity of the individual spots. Such a reduction in thediffraction spot intensity may produce an overall diffraction patternthat is less noticeable, and thereby not objectionable.

Exemplary surface damage structures are illustrated in FIGS. 9-14. FIG.9 is the surface damage structure produced by a laser ablation processwith a constant speed of 30 m/s, a pitch of 130 μm, and no outputsynchronization. FIG. 10 is the surface damage structure produced by alaser ablation process with a constant speed of 30 m/s, a pitch of 130μm, and output synchronization to produce a square packing alignment.FIG. 11 is the surface damage structure produced by a laser ablationprocess with a constant speed of 40 m/s, a pitch of 100 μm, and outputsynchronization to produce a square packing alignment. FIG. 12 is thesurface damage structure produced by a laser ablation process with aconstant speed of 40 m/s and a random pitch in the range of 80-120 μm.FIG. 13 is the surface damage structure produced by a laser ablationprocess with a random speed in the range of 30-50 m/s and a constantpitch of 100 μm. FIG. 14 is the surface damage structure produced by alaser ablation process with a random speed in the range of 30-50 m/s anda random pitch in the range of 80-120 μm. As shown in these figures,introducing randomness in the speed or pitch of the process produces anirregular surface structure. Additionally, the speed and pitch of theprocess directly influences the spacing and pitch of the artifactsproduced on the surface. Additionally, output synchronization allows adesired row to row alignment, such as square packing, to be achieved.

The methods described herein for reducing the appearance of diffractionpatterns associated with a laser ablation process may be applied to anyappropriate laser ablation process known in the art. For example, themethods described herein may be applied to the second surface laserablation process described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/874,263 filed on Oct. 2, 2015, the entirety of which is incorporatedherein by reference, for any and all purposes. A second surface laserablation process is a process in which the laser beam utilized to removematerial from a surface passes through the surface before the laser beamimpinges on the material to be removed.

A method of quantifying the severity of the diffraction effect wasdeveloped. In some cases, the diffraction effect is not present at all,which may be preferable. In other cases, the diffraction effect may bepresent but with a severity that is not objectionable. Lightingconditions and environmental factors can contribute to whether theeffect is noticeable in real world conditions and whether it isobjectionable.

A laboratory apparatus for measuring the diffraction effect includes apoint light source, such as an optical fiber with a light-emitting end.FIG. 15 depicts the laboratory apparatus. The measurements are taken ina darkened room to minimize errors introduced by stray light. The lightis projected toward the surface to be evaluated at a selected angle. Acolor camera is located at the complementary angle to the surface andimages the result. The light detected by the camera is then separatedinto the principle colors, and a software algorithm analyzes the imageto determine an ellipse that can encompass the reflected image anddefine the analysis area. The analysis area is shown in FIGS. 16 and 17.The analysis area may scale with the severity of the diffraction effectwherein a more severe diffraction effect has a larger analysis area. Thearea is analyzed and yellow light is subtracted from the image. The red,blue and green intensities are then summed and normalized to theanalysis area. This then gives a quantitative metric for the severity ofthe diffraction effect which may be referred to as diffraction severity,where higher values for diffraction severity indicate a more severe,noticeable, and/or visually objectionable diffraction effect and lowervalues indicate a less severe, noticeable, and/or visually objectionableeffect.

The light source is provided by Ocean Optics, model “Blue Loop,” andfeeds light into a 600 micron fiber optic. The light is directed fromthe end of the fiber toward a sample at an angle alpha of 35 degreesmeasured from the plane of the sample. The end of the fiber ispositioned at a distance D1, 17″, from the sample and approximates apoint light source. The illumination area is approximately 180 squarecentimeters. The illumination area should be large enough that theillumination makes little to no contribution to the image intensity. Ifthe fiber is too close to the part, brighter background noise from theillumination cone is picked up rather than just the bright spot imagedon the fiber. A camera is positioned at distance D2, 17″, from thesample at a comparable angle Alpha. The camera was a Basler modelAC2500-14UC with an f1.8 aperture. The lens was a 50 mm Fujinon lens,model # HF50SA-1. The focus of the lens is adjusted such that the focalplane of the camera is at the end of the fiber.

The camera inspection employs a static exposure. The integration timeneeds is selected to be short enough so that none of the Red, Green orBlue colors are saturated, and long enough so that the diffractioncolors are perceptible above the noise level of the measurements. Thedifference between these two integration times defines the workingintegration time. The integration may be set half way between the twovalues. For the light source and camera employed, the exposure time wasset to approximately 50 milliseconds.

The camera is calibrated to a spectralon plaque in order attain properwhite balance. The Red, Green and Blue gains are adjusted as necessaryfor proper color of the spectralon plaque.

The camera image of the analysis is shown in FIG. 17. The image isbroken down into two regions—an exclusion zone and an analysis area asillustrated in the schematic shown in FIG. 16 and the annotated cameraimage in FIG. 17. The diameter of each area is based on the size of thebright light source in the center of the image. The diameter is measuredfor the center bright spot and the exclusion zone is concentric with thebright spot and has twice (2×) the bright spot diameter. The outercircle defines the total analysis area and is six times (6×) thediameter of the center bright spot. The analysis image is evaluated forvertical color diffraction bands on both sides of the center bright spotin the region between the exclusion circle and the 6× diameter circle.

The color area is then examined for regions which are comprisedessentially of either Red, Blue or Green light. These regions define thediffraction bands. The area calculated for each of these colors is thensummed and the summed area is divided by the total analysis area toproduce a unit-less percentage number associated with the diffractioneffect.

As the magnitude of diffraction effect increases and decreases the areathe Red, Blue and Green zones change proportionally. The number ofdiffraction zones may increase or the width and length of the zones maychange as the magnitude of the effect varies. The measurement isrelatively insensitive to the integration time. For example, theresultant diffraction numbers may change by only about +/−5% withapproximately +/−25% of the working integration time.

Visual examinations of parts along with measurements were used todetermine a threshold diffraction value which corresponds to no visuallydiscernible diffraction effect. This threshold value may vary with thetype of sample analyzed, and may be affected by different coatingspresent on the surface. Below the threshold limit the measured valuesmay vary but may indicate only different types of noise for the sampleand/or the system.

The measured diffraction severity values may be correlated to asubjective objectionability by a particular observer or group ofobservers, type of light, angle of view, relative and absolute distancesbetween an observer and the ablated surface and the light source, and/orother variables so that diffraction severity values obtained under a setof standardized conditions can be used to identify an acceptablethreshold value. The measured diffraction severity values can also beused to evaluate changes in the severity of the diffraction effect forexperimental purposes.

The measured diffraction severity values generated using this techniquewere used to select a range of electrochromic mirror samples withdifferent diffraction severity levels. The samples were reviewed inlaboratory and driving conditions, and subjectively ranked and todetermine threshold values. The age of the observer, vehicle type anddrive route all affected the rankings. Twenty-seven participantsreviewed a series of mirrors with varying diffraction ratings. Thenumber of parts (frequency) versus diffraction rating which was used forthe study is shown below. When the diffraction severity was above about12, 88% of the participants objected to the effect while only 66% of theparticipants objected when the diffraction severity was above about 5.When the diffraction severity was about 3, 46% of the participantsobjected to the effect. When the diffraction severity was less thanabout 2, only 19% of the participants found the effect to beobjectionable. In order for about half of the participants to considerthe effect acceptable the diffraction severity value should be belowabout 5. The results of the study are shown in FIG. 18.

The diffraction severity may be less than about 5, preferably less thanabout 2.5, and most preferably less than about 1.5. The visibility ofthe diffraction effect under the most stringent lighting conditionsstarts at a diffraction severity of about 0.7 to 1.0.

Another aspect of the invention is an electrochromic assembly, such as avehicle rearview mirror assembly, produced by any of the above describedmethods.

While certain embodiments have been illustrated and described, it shouldbe understood that changes and modifications can be made therein inaccordance with ordinary skill in the art without departing from thetechnology in its broader aspects as defined in the following claims.

The embodiments, illustratively described herein may suitably bepracticed in the absence of any element or elements, limitation orlimitations, not specifically disclosed herein. Thus, for example, theterms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” “containing,” etc. shall beread expansively and without limitation. Additionally, the terms andexpressions employed herein have been used as terms of description andnot of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such termsand expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown anddescribed or portions thereof, but it is recognized that variousmodifications are possible within the scope of the claimed technology.Additionally, the phrase “consisting essentially of” will be understoodto include those elements specifically recited and those additionalelements that do not materially affect the basic and novelcharacteristics of the claimed technology. The phrase “consisting of”excludes any element not specified.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particularembodiments described in this application. Many modifications andvariations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope, aswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalentmethods and compositions within the scope of the disclosure, in additionto those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the artfrom the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations areintended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The presentdisclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims,along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims areentitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited toparticular methods, reagents, compounds compositions or biologicalsystems, which can of course vary. It is also to be understood that theterminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.

In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are describedin terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individualmember or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and allpurposes, particularly in terms of providing a written description, allranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subrangesand combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easilyrecognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range beingbroken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths,tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein canbe readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third,etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all languagesuch as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the like,include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequentlybroken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will beunderstood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individualmember.

All publications, patent applications, issued patents, and otherdocuments referred to in this specification are herein incorporated byreference as if each individual publication, patent application, issuedpatent, or other document was specifically and individually indicated tobe incorporated by reference in its entirety. Definitions that arecontained in text incorporated by reference are excluded to the extentthat they contradict definitions in this disclosure.

Other embodiments are set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of removing a material from a surface,comprising: passing a laser through a lens such that the laser impingeson the material, and wherein a working distance between the lens and thematerial is different than a focal length of the lens such that a focalplane of the laser is located beyond the surface in a direction ofpropagation of the laser.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the workingdistance is less than 95% of the focal length.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the surface from which the material is removed does not exhibitan objectionable diffraction effect after the material has been removed.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface from which the material isremoved exhibits a diffraction severity of less than 5 after thematerial has been removed.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the surfacefrom which the material is removed exhibits a periodic structure afterthe material has been removed.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thelaser passes through the surface before the laser impinges on thematerial to be removed.
 7. An electrochromic assembly comprising anelement produced according to the method of claim
 1. 8. A method ofremoving a material from a surface, comprising: passing a laser througha lens such that the laser impinges on the material, and wherein thesurface from which the material is removed has an array of artifactsthereon with a spacing between artifacts and a pitch between lines ofartifacts, and wherein at least the pitch is varied.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein at least one of the spacing and pitch is random orpseudo-random.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the pitch is between60 μm and 200 μm.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the artifacts eachhave a characteristic radii, and at least a portion of the artifactshave different characteristic radii.
 12. The method of claim 8, whereina working distance between the lens and the material is different than afocal length of the lens.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprisingvarying a pulse frequency of the laser, such that a variation in thespacing of pulses incident on the material is produced.
 14. The methodof claim 8, further comprising varying a scan speed of the laser overthe material, such that a variation in the spacing of laser pulsesincident on the material is produced.
 15. The method of claim 8, whereinthe lens is a variable lens, and further comprising modulating the focallength of the lens.
 16. The method of claim 8, further comprisingdriving an actuated mirror located along a beam path of the laser, suchthat a variation in a spacing of laser pulses incident on the materialis produced.
 17. The method of claim 8, wherein the surface from whichthe material is removed does not exhibit an objectionable diffractioneffect after the material has been removed.
 18. The method of claim 8,wherein the surface from which the material is removed exhibits adiffraction severity of less than 5 after the material has been removed.19. The method of claim 8, wherein the laser passes through the surfacebefore the laser impinges on the material to be removed.
 20. Anelectrochromic assembly comprising an element produced according to themethod of claim 8.